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Editor's Report

How successful would your business be if you not only met your customers’ expectations but provided an experience that left them amazed—in a good way—every time they visited your shop?

We’re all consumers; not a day goes by when we don’t pay someone for something. In most cases we have a choice of who gets our business and those choices are usually based on past experience, recommendations or a combination of the two.

Chances are you’ve done business with a few companies who exceeded your expectations so thoroughly that you’ll not only continue to spend your money with them, you’ll also recommend them to others. Personally, I can think of a few off the top of my head.

The first is The Economist, a weekly magazine I’ve subscribed to for years. It’s not inexpensive, but I value the in-depth, well-researched news coverage and commentary it provides. What’s always amazed me is just how quickly the publication produces its content and delivers it to my mailbox. Maybe it’s because I’m in the business and know what it takes to put a magazine together, but their production capabilities absolutely amaze me.

Then there’s the local tree service company I recently did business with. Less than 24 hours after scoping the work to be done and agreeing to a price, a small army of workers completed the job in less than two hours and didn’t leave as much as a twig or a footprint on our property. As soon as they left, my wife called me to say how completely amazed she was by the results.

Lastly is Amazon Prime, a membership program I recently subscribed to that provides free expedited shipping for many products purchased from Amazon. The first time I used it, I was amazed to receive two products—coming from different parts of the country—less than 24 hours after I placed the order.

While each of these three companies exceeded my expectations, there’s really no great mystery as to how they did it. It’s obvious that they all invested in the tools and resources necessary to deliver an outstanding product and they did a great job managing the processes to make sure all the pieces worked together in perfect harmony. They operate in very competitive markets and realize they can’t stand out by delivering a ho-hum experience.

Every year, Consumer Reports surveys car owners to find out how satisfied they were with repairs performed on their vehicles in the previous 12 months. This year the results showed that, as in previous years, most people prefer taking their vehicles to independent shops. But for the first time some of the respondents were also recontacted and asked about their specific gripes. Of that group, about three-quarters were either completely or very satisfied with their repair shop and remained loyal to their service provider over a five-year period. The remaining 25% pointed to a variety of reasons for their dissatisfaction, chief among them not getting the problem fixed properly, while others said it took longer than expected to complete the work. And, sadly, 30% of female respondents who stopped using a shop said they did so because they felt the staff tried to take advantage of them based on their gender.

You may want to take a moment to reflect on your own experiences with companies that have earned your repeat business and your recommendations. How do they exceed your expectations? How do they amaze you?

As a shop owner, every business decision you make determines the kind of experience your customers receive. The Consumer Reports survey suggests there is a sizable percentage of car owners who have not settled on a repair shop. Are you doing things that make you stand out from the competition and will attract them to your business?